


Mutual Understandings

by MarkedChampion



Series: Questionable Projections [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fenris - Freeform, First Fanfiction, Hanged Man, Hawke - Freeform, Mage Hawke - Freeform, Some Action, Spymaster, Varric - Freeform, i dont really know what to put in tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 16:10:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12279954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarkedChampion/pseuds/MarkedChampion
Summary: While working with Varric to raise money for the expedition to the Deep Roads, Varric asks Marian for her help.  Marian then confronts him in theHanged Man about this afterwards.  Lastly, Marian and Fenris have a heart to heart.





	Mutual Understandings

Varric moved faster than Anders when he saw that white and black spotted kitten the other afternoon near the hanged man; for such a short man, Varric would stand a chance in a marathon as long as there was no incline or inclement weather... altogether it would be fitting if he was just indoors. Was he worried? He had a spat with a woman wearing rather ratty but tight fitting clothing the other day when Hawke saw him last before meeting at the hanged man.

“Could you at least wait up a second, Varric?” Hawke puffed, and then under her breath “Agitated?”

“Very. One of my informants went missing in this house, I don’t know what to think about this but we have to look for her at least. Hawke, please help me.” Varric really didn’t have to ask Hawke, seeing as how the both of them had found good friends in each other, however this was an awkward situation for Varric and asking was just more panicked debriefing.

“Alright, let’s go.” Hawke reassured Varric with a comforting look and then opened the door. With a burst of dust that suddenly hit both of them in the face, Hawke winced and Varric sneezed and then the two were disgusted by how musty everything in the house had appeared. Spider webs, stains, sticky substances, this place was lived in almost too much and then abandoned with a blink of an eye.

The kitchen had old food on the table, rotten and half eaten. The corridors had mud stains all over the floor and the bedrooms had unmade beds and dispersed clothing. The only place that had not been touched was a room full of bookshelves but no books. With only a small amount of dust around and neatly placed rugs in obvious places it seemed like this was the only room that had never been touched but instead just merely cleaned.

“Library for the ultra-light reader perhaps?” Just as Hawke jested a loud thump came from inside one of the bookcases.

“HHHHHMMMMMPPPPPPHHHHHHH!!!” It was the lost informant Varric was looking for. It had to be.

“Irene? Irene!” Varric relieved but frustrated stared puzzled at the wall looking for a way to get Irene out.

“How did she even get in there?” Hawke was just as confused as Varric and searched around the other side to look for a way out there but nothing, it was like the room Irene was in didn’t even exist. When Hawke re-entered the room with Varric, she noticed a strange picture on the wall that wasn’t there before, perfectly pristine, no dust, must, or marks. As Hawke reached for the picture frame she noticed that it was warm to the touch, but only for a moment until the glass shattered.

“Hawke, demon!” Varric quickly reached for Bianca but slipped on one of the stains and nearly hit his head on a nearby table, only luck graced his presence enough to save him from an unpleasant fate that evening. Hawke already in the air after leaping over an armchair incinerated the desire demon with a punch straight to the jaw and landed on her feet. She watched the screams of the demon as it turned to ash and then ran over to help Varric up off of the ground.

“Maker’s breath, Varric… Are you all right?” Suddenly the bookcase opened up and Irene fell out, seeming completely unharmed.

“Before you ask… I have no idea what happened.” Irene stated under her breath. She wasn’t expecting Varric to be angry or anyone else at least because she didn’t seem the least bit nervous.

“That makes three of us,” Varric glanced at Hawke, looking for her reaction. “Just tell us everything you know.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know. One moment I was with the others, doing what you asked and then I was in there.”

Hawke scoped out the cavity Irene fell out of but only found a strange powder on the ground and close to the opening of the bookcase. “Have any idea what this is?” Varric sighed and sheathed Bianca onto his back.

“It looks like Qunari black powder.”

*****  
The Hanged Man wasn’t nearly as full as it usually was. The lack of roaring chatter was deafening itself. Aside from Hawke and Varric, there were a couple others that looked lonely and a little sad aside from one other contently chatting up the bartender.

“Varric… why did you even send informants into that house? Something they were looking for? Hawke took a sip of her ale. Tired, almost wanting to just quit the place and leave, the quiet aura of the Hanged Man wasn’t lively enough for this hour alone.

“I just told them to look for an upgrade for Bianca, nothing to worry you about at least.” Hawke arose from the table immediately suspecting the lie and gestured a frustrated expression and Varric understood.

“Hawke…” Varric gestured her to sit back down.

“I’m just tired. If you didn’t want to tell me, just say so.”

“Merrill has been going in and out of that house for the past few days.” As Hawke sat back down she gained an intriguing look on her face and opened her mouth as if she were about to say something but Varric cut her off unintentionally. “I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure.”

“There was a desire demon in there.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure what to think.”

They sat in silence for a moment as they sipped their drinks, Hawke was listening to the bartender clean some glasses with a cloth as Varric finally spoke. “There’s probably a reason for it. Maybe I should talk to her tomorrow or…”

“I’ll take care of that. Varric, you don’t need to lie to get my help.” He smiled and took one last sip of his drink and placed it onto the table, still a quarter full.

“Thank you.” He looked her in the eyes as he thanked her and held out his hand, which Hawke accepted. They shook hands noticing how proper business-like they were. “Sleep well, Hawke.”

“Night Varric.” Business partners, Hawke thought.

As Varric walked off, Fenris arrived almost like clockwork.

“You’re out late.” Hawke mentioned, almost in the form of a question.

“As are you.”

“You’re not wrong…” Hawke looked around, still dead, almost quieter than before if that was even merely possible. “Let me buy you a drink.”

“What part of me is not ‘perfectly clear’ this time?” Fenris didn’t even seem angry, just frustrated and confused like the last time Hawke read a manual for one of Anders’ complicated healing spells. Overall, just as if one doesn’t genuinely understand with a hint of bitterness. Reading into Fenris’ expression, she remembers the argument they had a day prior and felt like an absolute moron.

“I’m sorry. Things got really heated the other night. It was all of us, not just you.”

“Do you know where the mages are now?” Fenris raised his eyebrows and Hawke knew he was waiting to hear a confirmation.

She shook her head and said “No.”

“Does Anders?” Hawke shook her head again. Fenris eyed the bartender for a couple drinks and looked back at Hawke. “How do you know it was the right thing to do?”

Hawke wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this conversation to begin with but was still shocked. More yelling? Now that she thought about it, Fenris wasn’t the one that raised their voice. So she didn’t dodge his question, she answered.

“It just didn’t seem wrong, not this time.”

“Does it ever?” Fenris sat down with their drinks alongside Hawke and took a sip from his cup.  
“I think we see the Circle as something far worse.”

Almost as a jest “I probably could have guessed that.” Fenris cracked a slight smile and took yet another sip.

Hawke reciprocated the smile as she changed the subject now feeling better about the subject matter. “So… do anything interesting today?”

“I don’t go out much… I sort of stick out.”

Hawke smiled a bit and eyed him a little, noticing his relaxed demeanor. “Not a bad thing.”

Fenris chuckled in a way that made Hawke grin even more. She meant it, all of it.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction. I think it turned out well for my first try. Thank you to anyone who decides to spend time out of their busy schedules to read my ramblings :) Have an amazing day.


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